Automatic film processor wash tanks having washed squeegee rollers

ABSTRACT

A photographic film processor comprises at least one treatment tank containing a processing chemical, e.g. a fixer, and a watercontaining wash tank disposed adjacent the treatment tank. A pair of squeegee rollers located between the two tanks is operative to transport a sheet of film being processed from the treatment tank into the wash tank. One or more jets of water are projected onto the squeegee rollers to prevent the accumulation of residues thereon, and water flowing off the rollers is directed into the wash tank. The wash tank may be provided with a removable net for catching and facilitating removal of a sheet of film being processed.

United States Patent 1 Shintani et al.

[ 1 AUTOMATIC FILM PROCESSOR WASH TANKS HAVING WASl-IED SQUEEGEE ROLLERS [75] Inventors: Tadashi Shintani; Shingo Yasuda,

- both of Kyoto, Japan [73] Assignee: LogEtronics Inc., Springfield, Va.

22 Filed: Apr. 9, 1973 21 Appl. No.: 349,493

[52] US. Cl.... 354/331, 134/64, 134/122 [51] Int. Cl. G03d 1/04 [58] Field of Search 95/.89 R, 89 A, 96, 97,

[56] ReferencesCited UNITED STATES PATENTS 12/1942 Kienninger...;.... 15/100 7/1949 Kunz 2,913,974 11/1959 Sabelet a1. 15/10OX 3,286,616 11/1966 Limberger 95/89 R FOREIGN PATENTS 0R APPLICATIONS, 565,087 3/1958 Belgium 95/89 R [111 3,824,615 [451 July 16, 1974 612,792 5/1935 Germany 95/98 1,474,680 2/1967 France 95/89 R Primary ExaminerFred L. Braun Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Elliott l. Pollock [57 ABSTRACT A photographic film processor comprises at least-one treatment tank containing a processing chemical, e.g. a fixer, and a water-containing wash tank disposed adjacent the treatment tank. A pair of squeegee rollers located between the two tanks is operative to transport a sheet of film being processed from the treatment tank into the wash tank. One or more jets of water are projected onto the squeegee rollers to prevent the accumulation of residues thereon, and'water flowing off the rollers is directed into the wash tank. The wash tank may be provided with a removable net for catching and facilitating removal of a sheet of film being processed.

10 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures ,ll l

- HAVING WASHED SQUEEGEE'ROLLERS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an automatic processing apparatus for photographic film in which the water used for washing a processed sheet of film is also utilized to wash the pair of squeegee rollers which transport the film sheet into the wash tank, so as to remove processing fluid such as a fixing solution from the surfaces of the squeegee rollers.

Automatic film processing machines of the general type contemplated by the present invention are in themselves well known. They customarily include one or more tanks containing a developer solution, followed .byone or more tanks containing a fixer, followed in turn by a wash tank and, in some cases, a dryer; and

a sheet of film being processed in succession to the developer, fixer, and wash tanks. The transport system may include, inter alia, a pair of superposed squeegee rollers disposed between the fixing tank and the wash tank for removing fixing solution from the surface of the film sheet prior to the washing of said sheet. In such arrangements, any residue of the fixing solution which remains on. the surfaces of the squeegee rollers can, after a period of time, damage the rollers; and, more-' over, if such a fixing solution residue should be permitted to dry on the surfaces of the rollers, the resultant solid encrustation may scratch the surfaces of subsequent sheets being processed. This problem is aggravated,imoreover, by the fact that a precipitate of silver or the like may adhere to the surfaces of the squeegee rollers and solidify thereon after the processor has been in operation for a period of time, and this solidified precipitate may also damage the surfaces of the film sheets being processed.

The present invention is intended to obviate the fore-- going difficulties and, more particularly, is concerned with novel wash tank configurations which include provisions for continually cleaning the surfaces of the trough or catch basin can be provided within the'automatic film processor below the squeegee rollers for catching water which flows off said rollers and for leading the same via a conduit into the wash tank. In either embodiment, a guide plate or baffle is preferably provided above the squeegee rollers to assist in directing a sheet of film from the fixing tank into the wash tank,

and for preventing the indiscriminate spraying of water which is projected onto the squeegee rollers.

a transport system is customarily provided for feeding squeegee rollers to prevent the accumulation of any residue thereon.

' gee rollers which are used to transport a'sheet of film from a treatment tank into the wash tank of an automatic film processor are associated with cleaning means arranged to supply one or more jets of water under pressure onto at least one of the squeegee rollers, e.g. the driven one of said rollers. The cleaning means may comprise an elongated spray tube disposed adjacent the squeegee rollers and provided with a plurality of orifices directed at said rollers. The cleaning water which flows off the squeegee rollers is directed into the wash tank of the processor; and excess quantities of water in the wash tank are drained therefrom through .an overflow conduit which has an inlet opening disposed obliquely or at right angles to the axis of said conduit to prevent the clogging of the conduit by a sheet of film in the wash tank.

The squeegee rollers and associate cleaning means may comprise a portion of a unitarywash tank adapted to be mounted on a pre-existing automatic processing machine; and in that form of the invention, the wash The wash tank may be supplied with a transport system operative to direct a sheet of film being washed through and out of the wash tank into an associated dryer or onto a catch tray. Alternatively, however, in order to provide a self-contained wash tank which is relatively inexpensive and adapted to be readily added as a self-contained unit to a pre-existing processor, the wash tank can be provided with a net adapted to receive a sheet of film which is transported by the squeegee rollers into the wash tank, said net being mounted for easy removal and replacement to facilitate manual removal of awashed sheet of film from the wash tank.

BRIEFIDESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The foregoing objects, advantages, construction and operation of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the subsequent description and accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view in partial section of a wash tank adapted to be added to an automatic processing machine, and constructed in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 diagrammatically illustrates the wash tank of FIG. 1 in association with an automatic processing machine; and

FIG. 3 is a side view in partial section of another embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS cal tube extending in a direction generally parallel to the axes of a pair of superposed squeegee rollers 4 and 5, positioned above said spray tube 3; and the spray tube is provided with a plurality of round or elongated orifices formed in one or more rows thereon and ori-v ented to direct jets of water under pressure onto the squeegee rollers. A baffle or guide plate 11 is mounted above the squeegee rollers, on the side thereof opposite to spray tube 3, to restrict the water spray; and said baffle 11 includes a downwardly inclined forward portion adapted to deflect a sheet of film passing through squeegee rollers 4 and 5 in a downward direction into the water bath 14 in wash tank 1.

The water jets which are projected from tube 3 onto the squeegee rollers act to clean those rollers and preinto the wash tank '1, a portion of the filmsheet may tend to adhere closely to the interior side of wall la. This tendency is especially pronounced when thin flims are being processed, and may'leave a portion of the film sheet unwashed or only insufficientlywashed. In the arrangement of the present invention, however, since water continually flows downwardly along the interior side of sidewall la, adherence of the film to that side wall is prevented; and this helps assure that the sheet of film is adequately washed and, in addition, prevents the film from being scratched due to frictional contact with the interior side of wall 1a.

The wash water which accumulates within tank 1,

due to the continual supplyof wash water thereto from spray tube 3, is discharged via an overflow pipe 12 to maintain a constant level of water within said tank 1. Discharge pipe 12 is mounted in the bottom of tank 1 adjacent one side thereof, eg in a corner of the tank, so as not to hinder the removal of film sheet from the tank. The upper endof discharge pipe 12 is provided with an inlet opening and, as best shown in FIG. 1, said opening-is oblique to the axis of pipe 12 and is inclined away from the film entry side of the wash tank 1. The oblique orientation of the discharge opening prevents the opening from being clogged due to a sheet of film being drawn by suction onto said opening (which might .occur if the opening were oriented horizontally) and,

at the same time, avoids possible scratching of the film sheet by the upper end of the discharge pipe.

A net 6 is removably supported within the wash, tank 1 for catching a film sheet, to facilitate manual removal of the sheet from the tank after it has been washed. One end of the net is provided with a pair of laterally'spaced support bars 8. (only one of which is shown in FIG. 1) which are in turn removably disposed within a pair of spaced, complementary brackets 7 located within tank 1 adjacent the side edges of wall 1a. The other end of net 6 is provided with a similar pair of support bars 9 which are received within a pair of notches 10 disposed in the upper edges of the side walls of tank 1 adjacent the forwardmost wall of said tank. By reason of this configuration, when a sheet of film has been directed through.squeegee rollers 4, 5 into tank 1, it is caught by net 6, and the washed sheet of film can thereafter be readily removed from the tank simply by grasping support bars 9 and lifting the same upwardly. This particular method of film removal has advantages over other techniques which might be employed, e.g. the use of a comparatively rigid basket or the like which is sunk into the tank, since the film sheet can be readily removed even though an obstacle such as baffle 11 is positioned above a portion of the wash tank. Net 6 can be fabricated readilyand inexpensively, and, by reason of the mounting arrangement employed, one net can easily be replaced .by another when desired.

While FIG. 1 depicts the squeegee rollers 4, 5 and baffle 1.1 as comprising a portion of the wash tank, in

, practice the squeegee rollers and baffle are normally attached to a portion of the automatic processing ma- ,chine. The remaining portions of .the wash tank are separably attached to the automatic processor by means of fittings 13 mounted on opposing exterior sides of wash tank 1 andadapted to engage complementary brackets affixed to the processor. The tank may be drained via a discharge pipe 15 located in its bottom, associated with an appropriate valve 16.

FIG. 2 depicts a washtank of the type shown in FIG. 1 attached to an automatic processor 17 of generally conventional configuration. The processor is provided with a control panel 25 on its front face, and a film feed tray 23 is mounted on the upper portion of the processor to receive a sheet of film which is to be fed into the interior of the processor; The processor includes a developer tank 18 and a fixer tank 19 on its-interior, in association with cross-over and turn-around wire guides 20 located adjacentthe tops and bottoms of said tanks respectively for guiding a sheet of film in se-1 quence from one to the next of said tanks and then to squeegee rollers 4, 5 and into wash tank 1. A sheetof exposed film to be processed passes from feed tray 23 through aninlet opening 24, and is then directed by an appropriate transport system comprising, for example, a pair of feed-rollers 21, 22, along a path generally designated 26. Squeegee rollers 4, 5 form a portion of the transport system and are driven by means of the ,same

drive mechanism employed to drive the remainder of the transport mechanism. Such automatic film processors are, in themselves, well known and do not form a portion of the present invention.

FIG. 3. illustrates an alternative embodiment of the present invention. More particularly, the embodiment previously described in reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 was one wherein the wash tank 1 was effectively integrated with the automatic processor by being directly attached thereto. However when it is'desired to process relatively wide film sheets, the size of the automatic processor becomes relatively large and, by the same token, the size of the wash tank must'be similarly increased. In such a case, it is difficult to support the wash tank directly on the housing of the film processor by brackets of the type previously described in reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

In the alternative embodiment of FIG. 3, the wash tank 31 (which is assumed to be of relative large size) is separate from the-film processor 46, and is mounted on a base or stand 44 disposed adjacent the processor. A catch tray or trough 32 for receiving wash water is provided below squeegee rollers 34 and 35, and a spray tube 33 is mounted within the. catch tray 32 to project jets of water onto the squeegee rollers, with all of these parts beinglocated within the housing of the automatic film processor. Water which flows off the squeegee rollers into trough32 is directed via a conduit 36 into wash tank 31. Excess water which accumulates in the wash tank 31 is discharged via a round discharge opening 40, located in a side wall of they wash tank 31,

per se upper side wallof tank 31 functions in a manner similar to that of the obliquely-cut overflow opening previously described in reference to FIG. 1, i.e.' the location and orientation of overflow hole 40prevents the opening from being clogged by adherence of a film sheet thereto, and prevents possible damage of the film due to contact with the discharge hole.

A sheet of film which has passed throughthe washed squeegee rollers 34, 35 is directed downwardly toward and into the wash tank along a plurality of wire guides 37, to prevent the processed film sheet from engaging or adhering to the side wall of the film processor or the side wall of the wash tank, thereby to prevent the film from being scratched due to such contact. The lowermost ends of the wire guide 37, i .e. those portions of the guides which extend generally vertically, are associated with a plurality of spaced horizontally disposed shafts fixably attached thereto; and a freely rotatable guide roll 38 is mounted forrotation on each of said shafts between each of said wire guides 37. Ordinarily, a sheet of film which has passed through the squeegee rollers will tend to fall under the action of gravity toward wash tank 31 while sliding along the wire guides 37. However, if asheetof film is of relatively short length, and particularly if the film is relatively thin, the film sheet may tend to adhere to the wire guide rather than falling into the wash tank 31. This undesirable result is prevented by the aforementioned rotatable rolls, 38 which prevent such adhesion between the film sheet and guides 37.

A film guide plate 39 is also attached to the processor housing at a position above washed squeegee rollers 34, 35, and includes a downwardly inclined portion spaced outwardly of, and generally parallel to, the downwardly inclined portions of wire guides 37. This downwardly inclined portion of guide plate 39 operates to direct comparatively stiff film downwardly toward wash tank 31. The remainder of automatic processor 46 is in accordance with the description previously given with respect to FIG. 2, eg numeral 45 designates a tank for a'fixing solution, etc. v r

The squeegee rollers shown in the various figures typically comprise a driven roller (e.g. 4 or 34) which engages an idler roller (5 or '35) which may be springpressed against the driven roller. As will be apparent from the disposition of the various parts shown in FIGS. 1-3, the water jets from spray tube 3 or 33 are directed onto the driven roller 4 or 34 only, particularly when a sheet of film is between the two squeegee rollers. However, when no film sheet is present between the squeege rollers, the two rollers continue to rotate in surface contact with one another and, as a result, the idler rollers 5 and 35 are indirectly washed by .water projected onto the surface of the driven roller 4 or 34. In this way, both rollers in the squeegee are continually washed to remove fixing solution therefrom, and to prevent any silver precipitate or encrustation of residue from forming.

While we have thus described preferred embodiments of the present invention, many variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The shape and disposition of the various orifices in the spray tube can be varied as desired, or other water applying mechanisms can be employed; and therelative orientation of the various parts can be altered provided that the arrangement employed causes wash water to be applied to the squeegee rollers and to drain therefrom into the wash tank. Moreover, instead of employing a net for removal of a washed sheet of film from the wash tank, a power driven transport system can be provided for that purpose, and, if desired, the washed sheet of film'can thereafter be transported into a dryer of known type.

.The foregoing description is accordingly intended to be illustrative only andnot limitative of the present invention, and all such modifications are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. A photographic film processor comprising at least one treatment tank containing a processing chemical, a water-containing wash tank having an inlet side disposed adjacent an outlet side of said treatment tank, means including a' pair of squeegee rollers spring biased into engagement with one another and disposed for rotation in opposing directions respectively between said outlet side of said treatment tank and said inlet side of said wash'tank for transporting a sheet of film being processed from said treatment tank into said wash tank, said sheet of film entering said wash tank from said squeegee rollers at a position adjacent the interior sur face of said inlet side of said wash tank, cleaning means for applying a continually flowing stream of liquid onto said squeegee rollers to remove residue of said processing chemical therefrom, and means for directing the liquid flowing off said rollers into said wash tank at the inlet side thereof to provide a continual flow of said liquid into said wash tank between said sheet of film and said inlet side along the interior surface of said inlet side.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said liquid is water andsaid cleaning means comprises means for applying at least one jet of water under pressure onto at least one of said rollers.

3. The combination of claim 2 wherein said cleaning means is located below said rollers for projecting water upwardly onto said rollers, and a baffle plate overlying saidsqueegee rollers inspaced relation thereto.

4. The combination of claim 3 wherein said means for applying said jet of water comprises an elongated spray tube positioned in substantially parallel relation to the axes of rotation of said rollers, 21 water supply connected to said tube, and orifices in said tube for projecting plural streams of water toward said rollers.

5. The combination of claim 2 wherein said squeegee rollers comprise a driven roller and an idler roller disposed adjacent thereto, said jet of water being directed onto said driven roller.

6. The combination of claim 1 wherein said means for directing said liquid from said rollers into said tank comprises a trough located under said rollers at a position spaced from the inlet side of said wash tank, and a conduit extending from said trough to the inlet side of said wash tank.

7. The combination of claim 6 wherein said liquid is water and said cleaning means comprises an apertured tube positioned within said trough for spraying water under pressure onto at least the driven one of said squeegeerollers. v

8. The combination of claim 1 wherein said wash tank includes an integral offset portion disposed adjacent the upper edge of the inlet side of said wash tank '7 and extending from said wash tank toward the outlet side of said treatment tank, said squeegee rollers and v cleaning means each being located adjacent and above said offset portion, the lower surface of said offset portion communicating directly with the interior surface of the inlet-side of said wash tank to direct the liquid flowing off said rollers into said wash tank along said communicating surfaces.

wash tank spaced from said inlet side at a readily accessible position above the normal water level in said wash 9 The combination of claim 1 including an elongated net supported within said wash tank for catching a sheet of film transported via said squeegee rollers into said wash tank, one end of said net being attached to the inlet side of said wash tank at a submerged position below the normal water level in said wash tank, the other end of said net being attached to a portion of said sheet of film from said wash tank.

said opening by a sheet of film in said wash tank. 

1. A photographic film processor comprising at least one treatment tank containing a processing chemical, a watercontaining wash tank having an inlet side disposed adjacent an outlet side of said treatment tank, means including a pair of squeegee rollers spring biased into engagement with one another and disposed for rotation in opposing directions respectively between said outlet side of said treatment tank and said inlet side of said wash tank for transporting a sheet of film being processed from said treatment tank into said wash tank, said sheet of film entering said wash tank from said squeegee rollers at a position adjacent the interior surface of said inlet side of said wash tank, cleaning means for applying a continually flowing stream of liquid onto said squeegee rollers to remove residue of saId processing chemical therefrom, and means for directing the liquid flowing off said rollers into said wash tank at the inlet side thereof to provide a continual flow of said liquid into said wash tank between said sheet of film and said inlet side along the interior surface of said inlet side.
 2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said liquid is water and said cleaning means comprises means for applying at least one jet of water under pressure onto at least one of said rollers.
 3. The combination of claim 2 wherein said cleaning means is located below said rollers for projecting water upwardly onto said rollers, and a baffle plate overlying said squeegee rollers in spaced relation thereto.
 4. The combination of claim 3 wherein said means for applying said jet of water comprises an elongated spray tube positioned in substantially parallel relation to the axes of rotation of said rollers, a water supply connected to said tube, and orifices in said tube for projecting plural streams of water toward said rollers.
 5. The combination of claim 2 wherein said squeegee rollers comprise a driven roller and an idler roller disposed adjacent thereto, said jet of water being directed onto said driven roller.
 6. The combination of claim 1 wherein said means for directing said liquid from said rollers into said tank comprises a trough located under said rollers at a position spaced from the inlet side of said wash tank, and a conduit extending from said trough to the inlet side of said wash tank.
 7. The combination of claim 6 wherein said liquid is water and said cleaning means comprises an apertured tube positioned within said trough for spraying water under pressure onto at least the driven one of said squeegee rollers.
 8. The combination of claim 1 wherein said wash tank includes an integral offset portion disposed adjacent the upper edge of the inlet side of said wash tank and extending from said wash tank toward the outlet side of said treatment tank, said squeegee rollers and cleaning means each being located adjacent and above said offset portion, the lower surface of said offset portion communicating directly with the interior surface of the inlet side of said wash tank to direct the liquid flowing off said rollers into said wash tank along said communicating surfaces.
 9. The combination of claim 1 including an elongated net supported within said wash tank for catching a sheet of film transported via said squeegee rollers into said wash tank, one end of said net being attached to the inlet side of said wash tank at a submerged position below the normal water level in said wash tank, the other end of said net being attached to a portion of said wash tank spaced from said inlet side at a readily accessible position above the normal water level in said wash tank, said net being mounted for ready removal from said attached positions to facilitate retrieval of said sheet of film from said wash tank.
 10. The combination of claim 1 wherein said wash tank includes a gravity-fed overflow discharge pipe, said pipe including an inlet opening at its upper end for admitting water to be discharged from said wash tank, said inlet opening being oblique to the axis of said pipe and being inclined downwardly and away from said inlet side of said wash tank to prevent the clogging of said opening by a sheet of film in said wash tank. 